All Born to Die
by acetamide
Summary: Challenge. In the year 2007, magic is dwindling and wizards are in hiding. Harry is on the biggest mission of his life... but will the darkness envelop him? SLASH
1. Prologue

**MOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSEE!!!** My delectably lickable frying pan. Here you go! More to come!

I've written this as an assignment for a site that I'm part of - go to my homepage if you want to join! Here's the prompt that I'm following:

_The year is 2007, the peak of the modern world and its technology. The old traditions, as well as the power of the wizarding world, have deteriorated under the influence of muggles and their power of technology. Now only a handful of wizards are left, all of them a part of a secret committee sworn to do justice to the dark slums of the London streets, where not only muggle violence takes place, but a darker magic as well.  
Harry Potter is one of the agencies best spies, and is out on one of the biggest missions of his lifetime. The question is, will he succeed this ordeal, or will darkness sweep over him forever? _

Only I've changed it slightly. Well, what're you going to do? But anyway. Onward!

* * *

_**Prologue **_

The nightmares come nearly every night.

Harry can still see the green jets of light bouncing off the walls in the kitchen as the Death Eaters swarmed in, striking down anyone in their path.

He can still hear the Molly's screams of despair as her children were slain one by one before her, stopping only when she too was silenced by the spreading darkness.

He can still feel the hard stone of the floor on his knees as he hid behind the dresser, waiting for the Death Eater to move into the corridor so that he could take them by surprise.

He can still smell the unforgettable stench of burning flesh as he flung hot coals from the recently lit fire into the faces of the approaching Death Eaters.

He can still taste their blood in his mouth as he launched himself at them physically, wand lost somewhere in the fight, relying just on brute strength and adrenaline and hate.

And then he wakes, nine years later. And he can see the morning sun through his window, can hear Buckbeak shifting in the corner, can feel the cold sweat running down his face, can smell breakfast downstairs, can taste blood where he bit his tongue. So he gets up, washes, dresses, and goes downstairs, and pretends that he wasn't having another nightmare. And the other will pretend the same, though he kept them awake most of the night with his screaming.

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Comments welcome and appreciated.

Smokey


	2. Anything of Nothing First Create

Chapter 1 for Moosie!

* * *

_**Anything of Nothing First Create**_

Harry descended down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Fleur was occupying herself with her head in the oven. After seven years, it still surprised him just how well she had adjusted to the Muggle way of life. Of course, she no longer performed magic unless absolutely necessary – the Death Eaters could feel the magic from miles off, and would come swarming around the house, even though they couldn't see it. That was how it had been for a long time – with magic dying out so rapidly, just the smallest amount was enough to attract unwanted attention.

It had started during the summer after Harry's 6th Year. Nobody had been expecting it, least of all Voldemort. The Muggles had leaped forward with technology, especially in the art of nuclear war – and another field, which instilled terror in every magic-wielding person.

The Muggles had found a way of harnessing the power of the magic in the world. How, Harry had no idea, but it was soon clear that they could find wizards and witches quite easily by the magic that they bore. Their advance overwhelmed the wizarding community, and in fear, Voldemort and his followers had fled and hidden – but not without a fight, which they lost. The Death Eaters were only half of what they had been.

As for Harry… well, so much for finding the Horcruxes. They, too had been forced into hiding, just until the Muggles had sorted themselves out and it was safe to go back to search for the remaining parts of Voldemort's soul.

He sat down at the table, and Ginny poured him a mug of steaming tea. Fred sat across from him, looking as lost as he had that fateful day seven years ago.

That fateful night, when they had been ambushed at the Burrow, and only one of the twins survived. Only three Weasleys overall. And Lupin, and Neville and Fleur. Out of seventeen people in the house, only seven survived to tell the tale.

Nobody in the kitchen said anything, and the tension slowly grew too much for Harry. He drained his mug in one go, ignoring the hot liquid as it burned its way down his throat.

"I'm going for a walk." He muttered, and left them sitting in silence.

* * *

Harry walked down the path out of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. They had replaced Dumbledore with Mrs Figg as Secret Keeper, deciding that as a squib, she was less likely to be found by the Death Eaters. The chilly November air bit at his face, and he pulled his coat tighter around himself, wishing that he'd picked up a scarf but refusing to go back for one. He reached the end of the road, and did a quick scan for magical activity before moving on.

Since moving to Grimmauld Place permanently, Harry had discovered that he was becoming much more sensitive to magic. He could _feel_ it now, like Dumbledore had been able to. It was pretty vague, in all honesty, but it was still there – he could sense if someone was magical, or if magic had been used in the area recently. He had learned to distinguish between his friends, since they all felt slightly different, but that had taken time. About two years, in fact.

Adapting to life in London hadn't been as hard as Harry had though it would have been – it had been much more difficult for some of the others though. Nevertheless, they had surprised him with their resilience and willingness to conform to the Muggle ways. Sometimes, he reckoned that they might even pass off as Muggles.

Recently, there had been a startling increase of abductions in and about London. Scotland Yard were baffled; the Government was anxious. So they had created a whole new type of police force, clothed in red, who patrolled areas where abductions had been occurring. Harry wasn't sure what their authority was, but the wizarding folk kept well away from them when they saw them approaching.

As he passed Hyde Park, he noticed a cloaked man stopping over a homeless man next to the Princess Diana Memorial, felt the tinge of magic around them, and realised that he might be witnessing another abduction. He sidled over as inconspicuously as he could and settled himself on a park bench, just close enough to hear what was being said.

"If you come with me, you'll be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams." The cloaked man was saying. "Nothing in your life could prepare you for what you'll gain."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing painful, don't worry. And hopefully, nothing… permanent. But believe me, if it does go wrong, you'll have nothing to worry about. We'll fully compensate you."

Harry could feel the magic from the cloaked man, and didn't like it. He's sensed something similar only once before, when Snape had returned to Grimmauld Place after a Death Eater meeting. And then the man said something that erased all doubt in Harry's mind.

"My Master would be glad to have you."

The homeless man looked for a moment like he was thinking, and then nodded slowly.

Guessing what might happen next, Harry crouched behind a nearby bush and watched, mystified, as the attacked pulled out a wand and Apparated. And as expected, it was less than two minutes before a Landcruiser pulled up and three red-clad men clambered out, adjusted their sunglasses, and spread out over the area.

Harry had seen this kind of thing before. Those sunglasses, he knew, were no ordinary eyewear. They had been imbued with the Muggle's new technology, and anyone looking through them could _see_ magic. He'd tried them out once before when they'd captured one of the red-clad men – and it was something he'd never expected. Looking between Lupin and Ginny, he could clearly see the difference. He had never realised that magic was so complex… it was almost like sparkling dust, floating around them both, but their dust wasn't the same. No, he saw the brown sheen under Lupin's skin and instantly knew that was the werewolf within him. How he knew, he couldn't explain – the same way that he knew that Ginny was the more magically powerful of the two, just by the brightness of the dust swirling around her in golden beams.

And he knew that these three men were looking for the tell-tale sparkling of dust in the area. He knew that they'd soon see the remnants of the Apparition spell, glistening orange in mid-air, as he'd seen it before. And if they looked his way, they'd see the blinding white and gold from behind the bush where he was hidden.

He stood up straight and walked away.

* * *

"It was really bizarre."

They were sat in the lounge, all seven of them, the fire crackling in the corner. Lupin looked at him with perpetually tired eyes.

"Are you sure it was a Death Eater?"

"I'm positive. I could feel him. But… why would he want a Muggle? And does that mean that it's been the Death Eaters all along?"

"One dizappearance izn't enough to be sure of anyzing. And for all you know, zat may not 'ave been a Muggle." Fleur suggested, shrugging.

"He was a Muggle." Harry said coldly. "I would have felt him if he wasn't."

They glared at each other over the coffee table, and started when there was a knock at the door. They all exchanged glances, confused.

"I though we were the only ones who knew where Grimmauld Place was." Ginny said warily, looking to Lupin for confirmation. He nodded.

"Yes – it's probably Snape. Charlie, take Harry with you just in case."

Sometimes, it annoyed Harry the way that they used his ability to sense the magic of another to their own advantage. And it wasn't half as precise as they seemed to think it was…

Harry paused at the door, a spike of fear shooting into his spine.

"It's not Snape."

Charlie glanced at him briefly, and looked like he was about to ask if he was sure, but Harry wasn't paying attention. His eyes were squeezed shut, his hands over his ears, as though he was trying to block out a horrific memory.

Years later, Harry still wouldn't be able to explain what had happened, for it would never happen again. One second, he had been quite sure that it wasn't Snape. But then… a sudden onslaught of magic burst into him, green and black and gold and white and red filling his mind, seeping in through his ears and eyes and mouth and nose and filling him with emotions and feelings and memories and…

"It's Malfoy."

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Comments loved & welcome.

Smokey


	3. New Mutiny

Chapter 2 for Moosie! Watch out though, it gets slashy at the end of the chapter.

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_**Ancient Grudge Break to New Mutiny**_

It had been over seven years since he'd seen Malfoy, so it was no surprise that he looked different – but still, Harry wasn't ready for the shock when he opened the door.

The pale, skinny boy with the pointed face that he remembered had gone – in his place stood a young, 27 year old man, tall and lean with blond hair even scruffier than Harry's own. But it looked as though it was possibly meant to be like that.

"Oh my, what iz zees?"

Harry turned sharply to face Fleur, who had come out of the lounge, and was now eyeing up Malfoy in a way that she hadn't looked at anyone since Bill had died. Harry looked back at Malfoy, and realised that he really was exceptionally handsome – the years that Harry had thought would have made him into Lucius had instead transformed him into someone completely different.

"Well?" Malfoy drawled, leaning against the doorjamb. "Are you going to let me in, or wait for my bollocks to freeze off out here?"

Still slightly shocked, Harry stood to one side and let him in. He swept past Charlie and straight toward Fleur, bending gracefully to kiss her hand.

"_Bonne soirée, mademoiselle. Enchanté de vous rencontrer encore_."

Fleur smiled graciously, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

"_Ah, appellez-moi 'tu', monsieur_."

"_Comme tu veux – moi aussi_."

"When you've quite finished." Harry said irritably, and motioned towards the lounge. Malfoy raised an eyebrow at him, but went through regardless. Harry followed him.

"Oh, what a motley crew." Malfoy said mildly, seating himself in the armchair that Harry had been sitting in and looking around at the wary eyes watching him.

"When you're in my house, you'll be polite to my friends." Harry snarled, settling himself cross-legged on the floor in front of the fire. "Now what do you want?"

Malfoy stretched luxuriously, arranging his travelling cloak around himself.

"Your help, of course."

Harry laughed scornfully.

"You've come here, asking for _my_ help?"

Malfoy turned to him and fixed him with a piercing gaze that immediately made Harry uncomfortable.

"I'll keep it simple, Potter. The Dark Lord's desperate. He's done something that he swore he never would – he's joined forces with the Muggles. He's decided that if they can develop the technology to find and harness magic, then they may well be able to help him too."

"What does he want them to do?"

"Open the Veil."

Harry's heart stopped and he noticed a sudden ringing in his ears. Open the Veil… the consequences would be great. Terrible, but great. And he wasn't sure that he'd want to stop what might come of opening it…

"Listen, Potter." Malfoy snapped, and Harry started, looking at his irritated face. "We don't have time for you to fantasise about what you'll do with your mangy godfather if they succeed. Because rest assured, they cannot be allowed to succeed."

"Why does he want to open the Veil?" Charlie asked, taking a gulp of butterbeer. Malfoy regarded him as though he had asked the stupidest question he'd ever heard.

"To get back his dead Death Eaters, for one. And, as Potter is no doubt aware, Voldemort's aim in life is to defeat Death. He's done pretty well so far, with the Horcruxes and that. Yes, Potter, I know about the Horcruxes." He said scathingly as Harry gaped at him. "But anyway – he sees this as the way to finally overcome Death. If Death is reversible, then it is not final, and he can come back regardless."

"So why have you come to us?" Ginny asked shortly from where she was sat, knees pulled up to her chest in an armchair that seemed to engulf her.

"Because I don't want the Veil opened in this way. It's not that we're opening the Veil that I'm pissed off about – it's the fact that we're using Muggle technology to do it."

"So, you expect me to go off gallivanting with you to near-certain death because the Muggles are experimenting with mysterious drapery? Not likely, Malfoy." Harry scoffed, and received a glare for his efforts.

"Don't be so naïve. It's the fact that they're using Muggle technology that scares me. What they are planning could turn out to be a disaster."

"Well then why don't you tell them this instead of us?"

"I tried telling them, but they wouldn't listen. We are weak, Potter. The wizarding world is coming to an end – Voldemort was wrong. And whilst we should be doing everything that we can to protect ourselves, instead the Dark Lord's followers are doing the exact opposite."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked shrewdly. He expected a sarcastic remark, but Malfoy just sighed and ran a pale hand over his hand dejectedly. He seemed to have run out of snappish remarks.

"They're combining Muggle science with Wizard magic. That's not a good idea usually, regardless. Muggle technology doesn't function properly well around magic. But the whole point is what they're experimenting on – the Veil. Something so powerful… they have no idea. They're playing around with the border between Life and Death. Anything could happen."

"But I though you said that they were just going to open the Veil?"

"I did. But the only subjects so far have been Muggles, and the Veil may well not work the same with them. We should have tested with a wizard as well. But regardless, when you mix science and magic, the results aren't always predictable. The tests, so far, have been acceptable, but there's nothing to say that it won't go tits-up with the actual thing. At best, nothing will happen. At worst, the border between Life and Death will cease to exist. There will be no difference. No real Life, no real Death. Just mindless wandering in between. The two worlds will merge, as will Muggles and wizards, and we'll just become one huge mass of people who can't live and can't die."

They all sat in silence for a log while, absorbing what they'd be told. Harry observed Malfoy carefully, the firelight flickering on his features. He was looking over at the Black Family Tree that they'd moved into the room.

"So what do you want to do, Harry?"

Harry looked at Neville, startled.

"Why are you asking me?"

"Well… you're in charge."

Harry glanced around the room, and sure enough, they were all looking at him, waiting for him to decide. Except Fleur, who was staring avidly at Malfoy. And Malfoy, who was pointedly not looking at either of them. Harry sighed,

"What _exactly_ are you wanting us to do?"

* * *

Harry lay awake later that night, listening to the London traffic outside, trying to put out what they would do tomorrow out of his mind. Why he had agreed to do it… he had no idea. But there some urgency simmering beneath Malfoy's calm, almost bored façade that had struck Harry, and he knew that he was telling the truth, knew that this wasn't a trap – if this went wrong, the world as they knew it would end.

He sat up suddenly as he heard his handle on his bedroom door turn, and slowly begin to creak open.

"Who is it?" he hissed into the darkness, fumbling on his nightstand for his glasses.

"It's me."

Harry slid his glasses onto his face as Malfoy shut the door behind him and walked quietly across the room, stepping into a patch where the moonlight shone through the window.

"What do you want?"

Malfoy took this as permission to come closer, and he sat down on the end of Harry's bed. He looked terribly out of place, wearing an enormous green T-shirt and black shorts. Not what Harry expected.

"I just wanted to make sure that you fully understood what you've agreed to… to make sure you know what could happen."

"What have you not told me?" Harry asked suspiciously, and Malfoy lay back across the bed. Harry pulled his feet out from beneath the other man's shoulder.

"I've told you everything. Just… what if it works like they hope? What if Sirius comes out? Would you be able to close the Veil again?"

"If your mother comes out, would you?" he shot back, and saw Malfoy's features soften in the silvery light.

"I hope that it never comes down to that. But if I had to… then yes, I would."

Harry thought for a moment before answering.

"I'd like to say that I could, but I'm not sure. If I couldn't, would you be able to do it by yourself?"

Malfoy turned onto his side to stare at him.

"No. I said I needed your help – I wouldn't have come to you if I could do it by myself."

"But why me?" Harry blurted, and realised that he sounded like sixteen-year-old boy that Malfoy no doubt remembered him as.

"Because I need someone very magically powerful. And you're the only I know who fits that requirement and would be willing to help me."

"You assumed a lot by thinking that I would help you." Harry said bluntly. Malfoy shrugged.

"I wasn't wrong, was I?"

Once again, Harry wondered just why he had agreed to help. Malfoy was right… what if Sirius did come back? Would he really be able to kill his godfather, again? And what about his parents? What if they came back? He _knew_ that he'd never be able to force them back through. He simply wouldn't. And yet, Malfoy was willing to sacrifice his mother for the rest of the wizarding world. So why wasn't he?

"Potter?"

"Yes?"

He looked down at Malfoy, and was struck by just how beautiful the other man had become. It was almost unearthly, and if he didn't know better, he'd say that he had Veela blood in him. He doubted that many people would be able to resist him.

And where had the hatred gone? In those seven years, the boiling hatred that they used to hold against one another had dissipated, become a sort of mutual respect. And somewhere along the way, all of Harry's perceptions of the other man had been turned on their heads.

"What if it all goes wrong tomorrow? What if we can't close it, and the worlds merge? What do we do?"

Harry realised that Malfoy had hold of his legs, holding them to his chest as though they gave him some comfort. He twitched them, not to make him let go, but just to make sure that they didn't go dead.

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen."

"I can't believe that I'm about to say this to you, but…" he trailed off, ending in a weak laugh, and tightened his grip on Harry's knees. "I'm scared, Potter."

Sighing, Harry reached down and disentangled him from his legs. For a moment, Malfoy looked bereft, but then Harry pulled him up to lean against the headboard with him and he relaxed.

"I am too. But you said it yourself. If we don't do this, then we could be forced into a life where we're not alive. Where we can never die, because we're already dead. Do you really want that? Don't you want to do all that you can to prevent that? You were the one who came to me for this, Malfoy. Don't back out now."

"But what if we don't succeed?" he asked earnestly, straddling Harry and looking him directly in the eye. "What if we end up as being the living dead?"

Harry held his gaze. He was so close, he could see the reflection of his eyes in Malfoy's grey ones.

"Then we'd better make sure that we remember what it feels like to be alive." He whispered, and realised that he was one of the people who couldn't resist Malfoy.

* * *

Comments adored & welcome.

Smokey


	4. All Born to Die

Heya **Moose**! It's finished now, and it is... 5746 words long. Excluding my waffling at the beginnings. So, voila! Final chapter 3. Have fun!**_

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_**

All Born To Die

"Harry! Get up!"

For a few pleasant seconds, Harry forgot everything that had happened – then it all came back to him in a rush, and his eyes snapped open.

He was alone in his bed, but distinctly remembered falling asleep with Malfoy at his back, bare skin pressed against his, the other man's arm over him. He immediately missed the warmth, and sat up, blinking up the morning light.

He dressed quickly and went downstairs. Everyone else was already sat around the kitchen table, glancing around in varying degrees of anxiety. He met Malfoy's eyes, angry and passionate and scared and bored all at once, and they stared at each other, each daring the other to look away first.

"We think the best way for you to do this will be to Floo in." Lupin said, and the spell was broken. "Malfoy's not sure just how much of the Ministry the Death Eaters have control over. Once you're in, you'll need to make your own way to the Department of Mysteries."

"And we're coming too."

Harry looked up at Ginny, startled.

"What, all of you?" he asked, incredulously, and Neville nodded.

"Yes, all of us. We've fought before, and we're doing it again. We can help you."

"We decided last night, after you'd gone to bed." Fred put in, looking desolate. "You can't talk us out of it this time, Harry."

"Well sorry to break it to you all, but you're not coming." Malfoy snapped, and everyone turned to him. "Just me and Potter."

"Just try and stop us, Malfoy." Fred hissed in return.

"I don't need to." He replied coolly. "There is no chance whatsoever that the Death Eaters won't notice a whole hoard of us arriving at the Ministry. They'll sense us Apparating, so we'll have to Floo. And can only use the Floo once – Potter and I can easily do it at the same time. And also, if we are captured before we can destroy the Veil, then they are more likely to listen to us if there are only two of us. You're not coming, Weasley, and that's that."

Ginny looked to Harry furiously, as though she expected him to side with her.

"He's right. Just the two of us."

He met Malfoy's gaze across the table again, and this time the other man nodded, before looking away.

* * *

Harry stepped into the fireplace next to Malfoy as night drew in, so close that he could feel the other's breath on him. He took a handful of Floo Powder without looking, and without breaking eye contact with Malfoy, gave him some of the powder.

"On three."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Ministry of Magic!" they yelled in unison, throwing the powder down, and an enormous flame erupted around them. They span faster and faster, and Harry grabbed at Malfoy to keep his balance, the roaring in his ears and green flames all round him and he kept his eyes fixed on Malfoy's the whole time, keeping him anchored…

Then they were expelled into the Ministry of Magic's Atrium and skidded across the polished floor, legs and arms tangled.

"Wasn't that fun." Malfoy said dryly, standing up and dusting himself off. "Right then, let's get this over with Potter."

Harry followed him as he marched over to the lifts, swirling into one and pressing the button to Level Nine. The grilles slammed shut and the lift began its slow descent.

"You could at least be pleasant to me, you know." Harry said shortly, as the woman announced that they had reached the Department of Mysteries. Malfoy gave him an inscrutable look as they strode down the corridor.

"Manners are especially the need of the plain. The pretty can get away with anything." He retorted, and walked straight through the plain black door and into the round room that rotated as soon Malfoy shut the door behind him. He was about to ask which door to take, when he realised that Malfoy was walking directly towards one.

"How do you know which one?" he asked, puzzled, and Malfoy turned back to him, sneering.

"Don't pretend you can't feel it, Potter." He spat, and Harry realised that he _could_ feel which door it was… it was the one that was pulling him towards itself, into a cold and dead embrace. He followed Malfoy through the door, and gasped.

The room that he remembered was nearly completely different. There was Muggle technology everywhere – computers and machines and mass spectrometers littered the room, and the wizards seemed to be having trouble navigating around the wires that were strung up everywhere.

And there were Muggles. Muggles and wizards all milling around with an ease that disconcerted Harry. He was all for equality, but this was just weird.

"Draco?"

Harry turned to where the voice had come from, and stepped back involuntarily as Lucius approached.

"Father."

For all that Malfoy had grown up, he still seemed to shrink slightly in his father's presence. The older Malfoy scrutinised Harry, head tilted to one side.

"Is there a reason why you've brought Potter here? And of his own free will, apparently?"

"We've come to try and stop you from doing this." Harry answered for Malfoy, hand gripping his wand in his pocket. "You can't mix Muggle technology with magic, it won't work! The Veil will be destroyed and you won't be able to control…"

Harry trailed off at the bored expression on Lucius' face.

"May I introduce you to Dr Sam Payne? He's heading the Muggle side of this experiment."

Harry looked past Lucius to a tall, broad man with dark hair and boyish features.

"Dr Payne was a nuclear engineer in the Royal Navy before he agreed to help us in our venture." Lucius continued as he descended into the centre of the room. "He's been very resourceful, and exceptionally thorough in all the risk assessments."

"You don't seem surprised by what I said." Harry pointed out, following him down towards the Veil.

"Of course I'm not. My son has already stated his views on the project. I had no idea that he would go such lengths to prevent this, but tonight he will be disillusioned. The Dark Lord will arrive once we have the Veil stabilised. Dr Payne, if you please."

Payne moved around one of the benches and lifted up to metal slabs, each about a foot long, three inches wide and an inch deep. He pressed a button on the underside of each and two green lights flashed once on the front of them.

"Now… let us see who is right!" Lucius proclaimed with a flourish, and Harry realised that they were going ahead with it and there was little he could do to stop it.

Harry watched, terrified, as Payne set the metal slabs down either side of the Veil and stood back.

"I advise looking away." He said, then pressed the button.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the metal slabs beeped a few times, and two beams of light shot out of them, connecting the two through the Archway, two thin lines of green. Over at the control panel, Payne pressed another button.

"Behold… life, after Death!" said one of the Death Eaters, and Harry wasn't sure which one because at that moment someone walked out through the Veil.

It was a man, and it was a Muggle – Harry could sense no magic whatsoever coming from him. He looked around in a distinctly confused manner, taking in his surroundings.

"Where am I? Who are you people?" he asked Payne, who had approached him and was prodding his body experimentally.

"Solid form. Cardiovascular system functioning, respiratory system effective. He's alive."

"Well of course I'm alive, what else would I be?" the man said irritably. "Stop poking me."

Payne turned to Malfoy and Harry, a triumphant look on his face.

"You see? There is no risk. You should have more faith in our technology."

Harry detected a scathing tone to his voice, but before he could retort, another Muggle stepped through the Veil – another man. The one that Harry had seen taken from Hyde Park.

"Where's my reward?" he demanded, looking not the slightest bit bothered that he was standing in a room full of strange people, some of whom were holding sticks.

"What are you doing?" Lucius snapped angrily. "We did not give you permission to return!"

"I don't need nobody's permission to do nothing." The man ground out, and hobbled up the steps towards the door.

"Get back here!" Lucius shouted, but the man carried on.

A woman came through the Veil.

"Get back!" Payne shrieked at her, shoving her back through the Archway. She stepped back out again, looking puzzled. "I didn't send for you!"

Another man stepped through.

And another.

"SOMEBODY SEAL THE MINISTRY!"

Harry was temporarily deafened by Malfoy roaring the command in his ear, and then again by the combined yelling as about five Death Eaters followed his order and locked the whole place, preventing any of the escaping dead bodies from reaching the outside world.

There were now twenty people in the room.

"So much for there being no risk." Malfoy snarled at Payne, who had stepped back in horror from the people walking out of the Veil. He reached for the control panel.

"NO!" Harry yelled, lunging for the professor. He missed, and the man's hand twisted a dial.

Then the world exploded.

A deafening roar ripped through the Department of Mysteries accompanied by a blinding light that shone directly out through the Veil. The already damaged Archway began to crumble, and with an almighty scream, the Veil disappeared.

Through the light, Harry could see multitudes of shapes pouring out of either side of the Arch, no longer held captive by the Veil. They filled the room, corporeal bodies that pressed out of the doors and flooded into the Ministry of Magic, wailing. He stood transfixed by the sight, and flinched when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Kill it, Potter!" Lucius yelled over the roaring and screaming. "You have to close it!"

But Harry was dumbstruck by the sight before him, and could barely keep his balance as all the people barged past him. People he recognised, people he hated, people he loved…

"Harry!"

Harry turned at the voice, and stepped back in horror. Sirius stood before him, grinning widely, completely oblivious to the dead bodies thundering past him and spreading out into the Ministry.

"No…" he whispered. "You're dead!"

"That's hardly the greeting I had in mind, but…"

"No, you don't get it. You're _dead_. It's not right, you shouldn't be here…"

"As you wish… hey look, there's Hermione!" he waved exuberantly. "Hey, Hermione! Ron! Over here!"

Harry grabbed his godfather's arm and pushed it down, nearly losing his balance as Broderick Bode careened past him, apparently with a purpose.

"Don't get them over here!" he hissed, and then buckled over in pain as something indescribable ripped through his system.

It felt as though he was being drained and pumped full of poison at the same time… his joints creaked when he moved, every breath was a chore, he was light-headed and felt as though he was going to fall over…

"POTTER!"

He tried to see who had spoken over the thundering headache that was now pounding through his brain, but his vision was blurring and his hearing was getting muffled.

"The barriers are breaking." Came Malfoy's voice, urgent in his ear, sounding as pained as he felt. "You have to kill it now, or the worlds will merge. Muggles opened it, magic has to close it. Now, Harry!"

Summoning up all his remaining strength, he stood tall, and drew his wand, and wanted nothing more in his whole being than to stop this disaster, this catastrophe that would be the end of worlds. He aimed his wand, and someone's hand found his through the chaos and gripped it hard.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

He saw the blinding flash of green light at the same time as he saw his parents stream through the Archway, reaching out to him.

And then there was a terrible sucking noise, and all the people who had escaped Death were pulled back through the Veil, crying and shrieking, hurled back through into nothingness. Sirius laid his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I'll be seeing you." He said quietly, and Harry turned and embraced him so hard that he thought he might break the other man's bones… and then his godfather was ripped away from him and pulled back through the Archway, through the Veil that had reappeared.

Harry stared at the Veil as it sucked in the last of its victims, including Narcissa, who was wailing and refusing to let go of Malfoy. Then the last was taken in, and the Veil dropped down, fluttering gently, and the room was silent. And Harry realised that for the second time, he had killed his godfather, and the only chance he'd ever have of seeing his parents again.

He fell to the floor and cried.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure how long he sat there on the cold stone steps, head buried in his knees. He could hear Death Eaters moving around him, could hear voices that sounded close yet far at the same time, that approached him then went away again. And once he thought he had even heard Lupin, though he knew that was impossible…

"Potter?"

He refused to look up when he heard Malfoy's voice in front of him, and pushed his forehead further into the crack between his knees.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you great prick. Don't think you're the only one who had loved ones come back, only to be taken away again. Now get up off your arse, I want to show you something."

He heard Malfoy walk away, and despite his unwillingness to move, Harry found himself up and following the other man across the ruined room and through, out of the Department of Mysteries and up, up to the Atrium.

Where Ginny, Lupin,, Fred, Neville and Charlie were waiting for him.

"They braved the whole of the remaining Death Eater army to come and get you, and were nearly killed by the crush of dead people. They saw their families return, they saw them die again, and yet they're here and ready to take you back." Malfoy said, and Harry detected a certain amount of jealousy in his voice. The other man turned to the people waiting. "He'll be along in a minute."

"He's coming now. We're not leaving you alone with him again." Ginny spat.

"If I'd wanted to kill him, I would have done it by now." Malfoy replied harshly, glaring at her. Lupin put a restraining hand on Ginny's shoulder.

"Come on. Harry, Apparate in when you're ready."

Harry nodded and watched as his friends Apparated one by one, until he was left alone again with Malfoy. They stood in silence for a good minute before Harry spoke.

"Are you going back to the Death Eaters?" he asked quietly. He felt Malfoy shrug beside him.

"I expect so. It's where I belong."

"So all of this counted for nothing, then?"

Malfoy turned to face him.

"No. This counted for an awful lot. The Death Eaters have a sudden respect for you that they never had before – you effectively saved the world from an evil far greater than them. They'll hesitate next time they decide to kill you."

"But you haven't changed your mind, have you?"

Malfoy smiled, a small, knowing smile.

"Oh, I don't know. I always thought that killing was the greatest rush." He leaned closer, smirking. "But I'll tell you now… you make me feel a lot of a lot more alive."

He closed the gap, pressed his lips briefly against Harry's, then Apparated away.

* * *

Back at Grimmauld Place, Harry moved the Black Family Tree into his room, and restored Sirius' name. He had no nightmares that night. Or the night after.

Or the night after that.

* * *

Comments very welcome and much appreciated.

Smokey


End file.
